


do me a favour (and break my nose)

by supernaturalsun



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M, almost four years before the particle accelerator's explosion, barry and len meet when barry's still in college, fluff in the beginning but angst appears pretty soon after, pretty canon compliant with s1/early s2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 16:44:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17964281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernaturalsun/pseuds/supernaturalsun
Summary: When he walked home drunk college student Barry Allen, Leonard Snart didn’t know it was the beginning of something. When he left his doorstep without so much as a kiss, he didn’t expect to see the kid again.The break up ? He saw it coming because he had it planned since the beginning.Barry’s anger eight months later when he found out about his criminal history ? Understandable (but not foreseen because Len had thought he was good enough not to get caught).The whole Captain Cold and Flash thing a couple years later ? Definitelynotexpected.





	do me a favour (and break my nose)

**Author's Note:**

> Title from _Do me a favour_ by Arctic Monkeys.
> 
> This should be an 8 chapters thing but I haven't finished writing it yet so, this will have to be confirmed later. You'll have alternatively one flashback and one chapter set in the present. The chapters in the present should mostly go along with what happens in the episodes where Len appears in The Flash (the months might not be _exact_ if not specified in canon but you know).
> 
> I wasn't sure how to go with drunk Barry Allen but given how he gets during his bachelor party, I guessed I had a little leeway with how to handle it. In the end, he's just mostly talkative and without a filter (yeah that's just me saying that if he feels a bit ooc, that's because of the alcohol, it's okay).

_Do me a favour and break my nose. Or do me a favour and tell me to go away. Or do me a favour and stop asking questions._

  


At the end of the 5 seconds countdown he’d just started in his head, Len was going to shoot himself. Himself or the dozens of people around him. He could do either of these options while cursing Lisa for bringing him here. And yeah, he was going to blame her for being persuasive instead of his own mind for being so dumb.

Thing was, there wasn’t much Len could say no to when it came to his sister. He wasn’t sure if that was because he was trying to compensate for their crappy childhood or if she was just that good but when she went for the pouty smile and the battling eyelashes, he really could hardly resist.

Sometimes things went well. Other times, not so much. Tonight he’d ended in a bar full of college students because Lisa had heard the place was nice and she wanted to spend some quality time with her brother and alright, it wasn’t her fault she’d chose to do this the same day every student in the city did. Len was a 35 years old crook, he did shady and quiet bars, not the ones filled with loud music and people ten to fifteen years younger than him. He felt terribly out of place.

Downing his third beer of the night, Len scanned the bar for his sister. She’d left him some time ago to go the bathroom but given the picture Len now had in front of his eyes, she’d apparently found someone else to keep her company. The guy looked like the cliché of a jock, reversed baseball cap, college teddy and all, but Len wasn’t going to say anything. They’d had their quality moment and now was his time to go.

He had barely taken two steps out of the bar when a body collided against him. He was 0.07 seconds away from yelling an annoyed _Watch it !_ when the person responsible turned around and looked at him with wide eyes. Then he was putting his hands on Len’s torso as if looking for any damage and Len froze at the contact. The kid didn’t seem to register. “God I’m sorry. I was walking backwards to say goodbye to my friend, that was stupid. Are you okay ?”

If this had been happening out of Saints & Sinners, Len would have already had the kid’s arm twisted behind his back to teach him that no one touched him without his permission. When he had that much innocence looking back to him and not being in a _total_ fool mood, it was surprisingly easy to indulge.

Quite gently, Len grabbed the kid’s wrists to take his hands away from his chest and back to his sides. “I’m fine, don’t sweat it.” He was probably lucky the guy was about his size because that shoulder would have hurt way more if it had landed in his nose or his gut instead of his arm. 

“Right.” The kid scratched the back of his head and there was almost the beginning of an awkward smile on his lips. “Should I get you a drink, to apologize ? I mean, I was going to leave but uh, I guess it can be arranged.”

Len blinked. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he was being hit on or if this stranger genuinely felt so bad about bumping into him he felt like he had to do something about it. Len wasn’t even looking that mad, it was ridiculous. That said, tall and cute was drunk. Not too much about to puke but a little beyond just tipsy. He had his dilated pupils and the way he held himself to prevent him from denying it. 

“You’re sure you were leaving ? Looked to me like the other way around.”

The kid looked confused for a second but he followed Len’s gaze between the entrance of the bar and their position and finally got it. “Oh yeah, right. No I was just going back to get my coat that I left inside. I think my friends want to keep me a little longer but I already did way more than I use to. I’m not that much of a party person, I really need my bed right now.” He paused. “Wait, you probably don’t care, I’m sorry. I’m going.”

“Kid.” Len called him before he had time to completely turn around. “Where do you live ?” 

“On CCU campus..?” He answered tentatively. Obviously it had to be somewhere on Len’s way home.

God, what was he doing. Len pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew himself, he couldn’t get away from the idea that had planted itself in his brain during the last minute. 

“Go grab your jacket, we’re leaving in 30 seconds.” The kid’s brows furrowed but Len looked at him expectantly and that was apparently enough to make him move. 

Couple minutes later, they were already away from the bar, the noise decreasing along the way. The walk didn’t stay quiet for too long. “I’m Barry, by the way.”

Len smiled. He didn’t know if the kid was always so talkative or if that was just alcohol loosening his tongue but he sure had things to say. It should have annoyed him but Len rolled with it. He wouldn’t say Barry’s babbling was _endearing_ per se, but he was cute. That and the three beers Len had had were probably the reason he was being so indulgent.

“Leonard.” He eventually said after a few steps. “But call me Len.”

Barry nodded but didn’t add anything. They continued walking and Len could _feel_ Barry’s eyes checking on him every few meters and after five full minutes, he took pity on him. “So, what made you go out tonight if you’re not usually such a _party person_ ?”

The light provided by the street lamps probably wasn’t enough to be 100% sure but Len was pretty convinced he caught a blush on Barry’s cheeks as he lowered his head. “My best friend.” He chuckled. “See, I’m more of a pizza and video-games night kind of person. Going out requires a lot of time and energy and my studies already consume a lot of those. But like, I’m not complaining, I love what I do and I don’t disappear from my friends for _that long_ periods of time. They get it, mostly. It’s just a question of priorities, I guess.”

It was Len’s turn to nod as he registered the kid’s words. He seemed passionate and that was tickling his curiosity. “And what do you study ?”

The grin on Barry’s face widened. _God_ , he looked so young. “I’m on my 3rd year at CCU. I’m studying forensic sciences. I do chemistry, crime scenes analysis and other stuff, it’s super interesting.” After a mini pause, he finished. “Mostly I love it because that’s what gonna help me become a CSI within a police department.”

Len was so glad he wasn’t drinking anything at the moment because he was pretty sure he would have choked on the laugh he just managed to suppress. Thank god he’d had enough experience in the field to actually keep a neutral face and be a decent liar. “Nice, you’re into the whole saving lives and keeping criminal off the streets thing, then.”

Barry seemed to mull over his answer for a bit but he eventually spoke again. “I got into it to help my dad’s case but yeah, the criminals things work too.” 

His dad’s case ? _Interesting_. Len was about to ask about that particular piece of information when Barry prevented him from doing so. 

“Anyway, what do _you_ do ? I’m pretty sure it’s not a wild guess to say you’re not studying at CCU.” 

“Look at you, already being a good detective, congratulations.” Len teased, his voice playful for the first time of the night. “My little sister brought me here. We had a couple of drinks, she found better company and that was my cue to leave the place.” 

It had almost looked like Barry had lost a little of his composure after the dad thing admission but now he was smiling again, not saying anything. That was probably Len’s hint he had to continue and give him a full answer. “I deal antiques.”

Barry’s brows furrowed. “That sounds like a code name. Are you a hit man or something ? Am I walking into a trap ?”

He’d kept a playful tone and not a panicked one but Len still raised an enigmatic eyebrow to mess with him. Then he continued to further the lie as they approached CCU’s dormitory.

When Barry got into his room and started taking care of his jacket and shoes without looking back, Len posed himself with a shoulder against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest. Eventually, Barry’s attention got back to him. “You want to come in ?”

Len smiled, lowering his head a little. Barry had used that same tone as earlier and once again, Len couldn’t tell for sure if the kid was interested in him or if he was just asking because that seemed like the polite thing to do. “No. That’s a nice offer but I’m going to head home now.”

Obviously Barry _had_ to look a little disappointed by the news. Great. It was not going to change his mind but Len could have done without it. He was a criminal but taking advantage of drunk innocent 20 something years old was not on his résumé. Especially when they were a future badge. 

“Okay.” Barry said reluctantly, rubbing a spot in his shoulder as if he needed to do something with his hand. “You’ll be careful though ? The crime rate in Central City has risen by 12% the last— ” He stopped when against his better judgment, Len placed his right index finger against Barry’s lips.

“Don’t worry kid. I’m a grown-up and I can defend myself, I’ll be fine.”

As a mirror of Len’s actions earlier, Barry grabbed Len’s wrist to take his finger away. “Don’t call me kid, I’m gonna be 21 next month.”

Len rolled his eyes like it had any importance. Barry scowled. “Also, you walked me here. I need to know you’re gonna be okay until you get to your place.”

The kid was stubborn, he had to give him that. Tilting his head, Len considered his next action and went for his pocket to find a pen. Then he turned the hand that was still in Barry’s hold to have Barry’s forearm in front of him. He pulled up the sleeve of his shirt a little and finally wrote his number on Barry’s skin. Then he liberated his hand and looked at Barry’s eyes. “Now, _kid_ , you’re going to drink a full bottle of water, go to your bed and fall asleep in less than two minutes. If by tomorrow morning you’re still worried about me -which I assure you, you won’t be- you know what to do.”

It looked like Barry wanted to protest but Len didn’t give him a chance. He took a step back to be on the hallway and waved his goodbye. “Good night Barry.” And a smirk later he was gone.

On his way back home, Len replayed the events of the night and couldn’t believe how ridiculous the whole thing had been. Well, Barry had turned out to be way more interesting than Len would have given him credit for in the first place. He didn’t regret not staying because he knew that was the _right_ decision to make. He was just strangely left… _Wondering_. 

Rationally, Barry would probably remember him the next morning. He’d been loose and relaxed but a black-out seemed rather unlikely. In any case, Barry’s sober self would surely realize how stupid it would have been to spend the night with someone like Len.

The following day, Len felt his phone vibrate once in his pocket while he was fixing himself something for lunch. He had a notification for a text from an unknown number.

 _Hi, I just woke up. I don’t exactly remember everything I said last night so I hope I wasn’t too much of a mess with you. Maybe I should get you a coffee one day to thank you for walking me home ? Barry._

He sounded so innocent, that should have been Len’s cue to end it already. Because he had to make bad decisions once in a while, he found himself on a date with Barry Allen the following friday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "I deal antiques" is totally a reference to the fifth book of the _Cut & Run_ series (Preston bby, ily).
> 
> Also, I'm not sure I'm a big fan of how this chapter went but I swear it gets better..? Yeah.


End file.
